It’s been two years since Lush left social networks. Any regrets?

Annabelle Baker – It hasn’t been with out its challenges. Nonetheless, how will you remorse a choice to attempt to make your prospects safer and one which was made within the gentle of damaging proof that platforms like Instagram drove younger individuals to suicide? Over the past two years we now have seen vital momentum each with the general public and with governments to deal with the problems and drive change. It’s encouraging to see new rules coming into impact throughout Europe to guard the security of these on the platforms — what we’d additionally prefer to see is extra accountability for Huge Tech. Our newest marketing campaign — that launched on Black Friday — challenges the facility and abuses of Huge Tech and raises cash for a decentralized motion referred to as ‘Individuals vs Huge Tech’.

Has this resolution had an impression on gross sales and the model’s status world wide?

Annabelle Baker – Figuring out the impression on gross sales has been troublesome for numerous causes. Our withdrawal from social networks coincided with a interval of unexpected world turbulence, with a rise in Covid instances, adopted by the invasion of Ukraine and, extra just lately, a cost-of-living disaster with vital inflation. We’re lucky to have a powerful neighborhood, which implies that our status will not be decided by our presence or absence on sure social platforms. The truth is, we’ve seen different manufacturers attempt to run an analogous energetic marketing campaign on social networks, solely to be requested by their prospects why they didn’t do the identical as Lush and actively withdraw from these platforms.

Have you ever had any detrimental suggestions from some prospects?

Annabelle Baker – Our prospects have typically been behind what we did and respect us taking a stand. We did a report with foresight consultancy The Future Laboratory this yr to research the digital panorama, now and sooner or later. With main specialists within the tech sector contributing, and over 12,000 shoppers throughout the UK, US and Japan surveyed, the intention was to research the quickly shifting digital panorama, its impression on shoppers, and present boundaries to digital transformation. The outcomes had been insightful, for instance: virtually seven in 10 adults (69%) consider that if a social media platform is unethical then manufacturers ought to step away from it; 65% don’t need social media platforms to make use of their knowledge for business profit; while an enormous 70% are calling for world laws that protects the security of customers on-line.

So your departure from social networking went easily?

Annabelle Baker – It hasn’t all been that means although, we positively did obtain feedback from individuals not appreciating our stance however this was two years in the past when the risks of social media weren’t as well-known or as properly documented as they’re in the present day. Simply this week, the BBC revealed a narrative about Gen Z turning their backs on social media and it’s also possible to see waves of authorized motion within the US from households accusing these platforms of being dangerous to teenagers, particularly. It’s essential to notice that these social media platforms aren’t the one house to construct connection and neighborhood and we’re more likely to proceed to see a decentralized strategy to neighborhood constructing and the way and the place a model can present up.

A number of months in the past, there was a little bit of a viral ingredient on social media that noticed some customers claiming to have (virtually) forgotten that Lush existed. Isn’t that an issue in a sector that’s topic to ever-increasing competitors?

Annabelle Baker – It’s a must to preserve your self related, and we’re lucky to have loads of creativity and innovation in our enterprise. When you make daring strikes, faucet into widespread tradition, invent groundbreaking merchandise which are efficient and actually change lives, and work together along with your neighborhood persistently and authentically, then a model can keep related. Remembering that individuals purchase from individuals.

What has the model performed to stay seen to shoppers regardless of this absence on social networks?

Annabelle Baker – Lush remains to be current within the digital world — sure, we’ve moved off of Meta platforms and TikTok as a model, however we’ve been experimenting with different web3 applied sciences and platforms. We’re aiming to regain the “sense of neighborhood” in on-line areas, when social media was actually social and when our Lush neighborhood was natural — earlier than the algorithm took over the direct connection between Lush and customers.

There’re different methods to fulfill communities the place they’re, that isn’t depending on these platforms. For instance we’ve been dipping our toe into the metaverse this previous yr, with a reproduction of our SXSW Home activation on Decentraland and participating in the primary Metaverse Magnificence Week. As a part of our ’Huge Tech Riot,’ we’re eager to divest cash away from the likes of Google and as a substitute spend money on our neighborhood, individuals over platforms. This ranges from taking a look at how we collaborate with influencers and creators, to providing our tremendous followers a primary have a look at product drops.

Have you ever initiated different types of ’meetups’ along with your neighborhood?

Annabelle Baker – We’ve been collaborating in additional IRL occasions and activations, exhibiting up at occasions like Afro Punk in Brooklyn; Glad Place Pageant within the UK; SXSW in Austin and Womad within the UK. We have now bodily retail areas all around the world, and have continued to spend money on redesigns and refits, in addition to new idea shops — similar to a brand new hair salon within the UK and spas in Dubai and NYC.

We’ve been collaborating with life-style and leisure companions extra over the previous 12 months and our neighborhood has jumped on these, creating many viral moments throughout all launches (together with the “Tremendous Mario Bros Film,” “Stranger Issues,” “SpongeBob” and most just lately “Barbie“). Once you do one thing cool that excites individuals, we’ve discovered that our viewers will organically share it and that’s extra genuine. In order that’s our job, create these merchandise and experiences that our neighborhood desires to share! We’ve additionally been constructing our neighborhood on Discord with the intention to make extra “conversational” interplay with prospects on-line. Discord is a decentralised platform and permits us to have extra management inside the server.

Within the vogue world, Bottega Veneta has left Instagram, however only a few manufacturers appear to have the ability to go and not using a social community presence. Why do you suppose that is?

Annabelle Baker – I can’t touch upon what different manufacturers do or why, I can solely discuss why we made the selections we did. Coming off of the platforms we did made sense to us, as loads of our prospects fall into the group most negatively affected by them. We’re within the enterprise of well-being, and we entice loads of younger women … we merely couldn’t proceed to ask them to seek out us on platforms [that push us] into giving our “consent” to develop their huge empires of private knowledge extraction and surveillance. They then depart us to cope with the detrimental results of this enterprise mannequin, which might imply a devastating impression on psychological well being and well-being. These platforms are actually the antithesis of what we stand for and are themselves anti-social. That’s why we’re at the moment working with a company referred to as Individuals vs Huge Tech, to boost cash for them to proceed their work to rein within the Huge Tech corporations. We’re promoting a shower bomb referred to as The Cloud, with all of the gross sales value (minus the VAT) going in direction of beginning a world youth community to reclaim social media from Huge Tech.

Would you say in the present day that Lush won’t ever return to social networks, regardless of the penalties?

Annabelle Baker – We’d probably, nevertheless we would want to see an entire change to the social media panorama. For us we would want to see accountability of those Huge Tech corporations who appear to behave with out regard for customers’ welfare regardless of overwhelming proof that their providers are doing loads of hurt. It might be a change of mindset and design on these social media platforms.